Praying for our children is something we can do every day of their lives. There’s not much else that can claim that significance!
And while I’ve always been mindful of the need to pray for our girls, I would definitely say my prayers have changed since they were little. When they were younger, I felt like I had more control (though in reality, we know I didn’t!} The older they get, the more I see my need to trust God with their lives. I’m not there 24/7 to help shelter or guide them. But He is.
I’ve talked about my monthly prayer list, and how I tailor that to specific needs in our family. I’m still using that format. But today I wanted to share a few general areas that are important to cover in prayer as well.
1. Pray for their physical safety.
Proverbs 21:31b says “….safety is of the Lord.”
When my girls were younger, my concerns had more to do with them falling off a piece of playground equipment or being taken by a stranger. Now it’s more along the lines of asking God to protect them during their drive to school, and for them not to get seriously injured during a basketball game. Whatever the physical threat to our children is, we know that God can keep them safe.
2. Pray for protection from evil and wrong influences.
Children lose their innocence at such young ages today! Because of our current culture, we’ve felt it necessary to discuss certain topics with our girls at earlier ages than I would have liked.
And no matter how you educate your children, there’s always an opportunity for them to see or hear something that can influence their thoughts the wrong way. Our girls attend a Christian school, but I’m not naive enough to think that they don’t encounter serious temptation there.
My prayer is that God will protect them from those temptations to sin and from any person who would be a bad influence. I’m thankful that Psalm 121:7 tells me, “The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; He shall preserve thy soul.”
3. Pray for spiritual growth.
Since we as parents live with our kids day in and day out, we often know where they’re struggling. It could be a bad attitude, dishonesty, or selfishness (yes, exactly some of the same sins their parents battle!)
Regardless of what sin it is, we can pray for God to convict their hearts. We want them to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and to quickly ask forgiveness when they realize they’ve done wrong.
4. Pray that they’ll make good decisions and wise choices.
Our girls have memorized many Bible verses over the years. Now my prayer is that those verses will sink into their souls and guide them in the choices that they make. You’re probably familiar with Isaiah 55:11, which reads, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
If our daughters will hide God’s Word in their hearts, and apply it to their daily lives, they will be blessed in many ways. We know that living out those Bible truths will spare them from the heartache that sin brings.
5. Pray for their relationships.
This includes friendships, teachers, coaches, and certainly siblings. I think it makes all our mama hearts happy when our kids are getting along with one another!
Our children’s friends play an important role in their lives, as do other adults. I’ve written before about wanting good role models for our children. We can pray that God will give them friends who will encourage them in their walk with God, and adults who will live out a Christ-like example.
Yes, prayer takes time. But I don’t think there’s any better way to spend our time than asking for God’s blessing and watch care over our precious children.
Related posts:
10 Prayers to Pray for Your Daughter
A Prayer for Wisdom in Parenting My Children
Teaching Our Children to Fear the Lord
These are great ways to pray for my children! I will add them to my list. Since I have five, I pray for one each weekday, and that works great for me. I’m not sure what people do who have fewer or more children….but I guess they figure something out. 🙂
Ah, having five children does make it work out nicely!!
Love this. I always pray, “Let my child be a good friend to everyone they come in contact with, and let other people see how amazing You are, Lord, through my child.” ❤️
Oh, Sues, I especially love that last part – “let other people see how amazing You are, Lord, through my child.” I want to pray that for myself!!!
Yes!!! I should totally pray it for myself, too!!!
Thank you for sharing your best practices as parent. I’m a mother of 4, 2girls and 2 boys. I want them to grow good Christians and good people with a happy life someday. But I find difficulties on how to do it since they are quite difficult to discipline.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting here! And yes, isn’t parenting and disciplining our children hard at times?!!
One of our daughters was very strong-willed and as a little girl, I wondered at times if she would actually learn to obey with a right attitude. I tried to be firm and consistent in my discipline – and to point out when she did well and encourage her. At the end of some days, I felt completely drained. But thankfully, over time, she did begin to respond.
I’ll pray for you this week, that God will give you strength and wisdom as you parent your four precious children.